Court Says Defendants Can't Use a Pretrial Hearing to Challenge the Freezing of their Assets

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Tuesday reaffirmed the government's ability to freeze a criminal defendant's assets before trial, ruling against a former sales representative for a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary who wanted to free up funds for a lawyer.

The court, in a 6-3 ruling written by Justice Elena Kagan, said sales representative Kerri Kaley and her husband weren't entitled to a pretrial hearing to challenge the freezing of...